Now or Never

about the laundry, who knows, it was something so trivial I can’t even remember it. My dad just got so mad at me; he went full force right at me. All I can remember were his eyes. It was like he wasn’t even seeing me; they were blank, but he was full of rage. It took everyone in the house to pull him off of me. He’d never laid a hand on me until that moment,” Grayson laughed bitterly. “It seems there is something about me that brings out irrational anger in men. Anyway, I guess he got sick of it all. That night he got into his car and drove away, leaving my mother nothing other than his debt. The worst thing about it was he left on Ethan’s birthday and didn’t even say good-bye. Ethan always blamed me for our father leaving. I think that hurt worse than the actual loss of my father in my life. Letting down Ethan is one of the worst feelings.”
    “That sucks, but I’m sure he realizes it wasn’t your fault. You were just a kid.”
    “Yeah, it was just so weird. My parents were always so happy to the point it was embarrassing to be around them. They were always dancing around the kitchen. My dad was constantly brining her flowers and jewelry. When he took off, it was just very sad. I never really felt close to him, but I was sad for my mother. She used to be an artist and hasn’t touched a paint brush since the day he left. The whole situation sucked.”
    It was strange that she could talk to him so freely. They barely knew each other, but for some reason, she trusted Derrick. He didn’t seem like the type that would judge. He just listened.
    Derrick squeezed her hand, and then rested his hand on her thigh. His hand felt heavy, warm and comforting. She was glad he was there when she got the call. Her family just didn’t talk about it. They tended to sweep anything uncomfortable under the rug.
    “When is the funeral?”
    “My mom said it’s on Friday. I guess we’ll probably leave tomorrow if we’re going to drive.”
    “Call me if you need anything,” Derrick said as he pulled into her driveway.
    “Thanks for today. I think you should buy the land.”
    “I think so too,” he said as he leaned in and kissed her lightly.
    Grayson ran up the porch stairs and through the front door. Her mother was sitting in the kitchen with the lights out drinking tea. Tea was her mom’s recipe for anything that was wrong. Grayson crossed the room and went in the kitchen. She grabbed a mug and poured herself a cup and sat next to her mom. She had no idea what to say to her, or what she could do to comfort her. She should probably hug her mom, but the situation was so uncomfortable.
    “Why didn’t you know Grace?”
    “I don’t know mom. Maybe because we were no longer bonded? Perhaps I outgrew the sixth sense? It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten a feeling like that. What about you? Shouldn’t your cards or charts have told you?”
    The woman in their family all seemed to have their own odd gifts. Grayson knew when someone was hurt or has passed away, Luna had dreams about alligators when something bad happened, Grams had visions and their mom had the stars and the cards. Grams said it was in their Scottish blood.
    “Maybe they did and I just wasn’t looking, or didn’t want to see it,” her mom said softly.
    “It’s possible. So what happened?”
    “I guess his hard living finally caught up with him,” her mom said, wiping away a tear. “He’s such a stupid bastard. I could have helped him; if he had just let me.”
    I reached over and patted my mom’s hand.
    “He loved you mom. He just had problems.”
    “I know. I just thought we would grow old together. It’s hard to believe he’s really gone. A part of me always thought he would return to us.”
    “I can’t believe he’s been so close this whole time.”
    “I hate him,” her mom said through clenched teeth.
    “You don’t mean that.”
    “I do. We had something special, and he threw it away. For Christ’s sakes he didn’t even see his children graduate. He never even knew what Ethan has accomplished.”
    The front door opened, and Luna and Ethan came through the door. My mother stood up and threw her arms around Ethan. He was always her favorite, probably because Ethan was the spitting image of their father. She quietly sobbed into his arms.
    Luna and Grace exchanged a glance, and she knew Luna felt just as uncomfortable as she did.

CHAPTER 23

    Dread washed over Grayson as they walked through the doors of the